Localized accumulation of excess bodily fluid in an internal region of the body frequently occurs as a result of injury, infection, surgical trauma, or some other type of damage or disorder in that internal region of the body. It is generally desirable from a medical treatment standpoint to remove such excess accumulated bodily fluid from the body to reduce swelling and pain and to promote healing. Aspiration is a procedure for removing excess accumulated bodily fluid, which employs suction to draw the bodily fluid from the body. Aspiration procedures are commonly performed on joints. A syringe is the instrument of choice for performing many types of aspirations due to its simplicity and effectiveness.
In addition to aspiration, a syringe can also be used to obtain tissue samples for analysis. The process of getting a sample is called a biopsy. A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon or an interventional radiologist involving sampling of cells or tissues for examination. The biopsy includes the medical removal of tissue from a living subject to determine the presence or extent of a disease. In many instances, a syringe is also the instrument of choice due to its simplicity and effectiveness.
Aspiration can be performed in any region of the body. Some parts of the body are more difficult to get to and more difficult to aspirate. It also goes without saying that different parts of the body are more sensitive to the aspiration process. The fluid can be very liquid or can be viscous.
Biopsies can be performed on growths in many parts of the body to determine if such growths are cancerous. For example, biopsies can be done on breast tissue, kidney tissue and even lung tissue. Biopsies can also be performed on cysts that may appear in many parts of the body.
In practice, the health care provider first preps the patient then inserts the needle of the syringe into the afflicted area. The plunger of the syringe is manually pulled backward, displacing the plunger within the barrel of the syringe to create a suction. The suction draws the accumulated bodily fluid from the from into the barrel of the syringe. When the barrel is filled, the health care provider withdraws the needle from the patient and disposes the aspirated bodily fluid in a sanitary manner, for example, by emptying the aspirated bodily fluid from the syringe into a disposal reservoir. It is oftentimes also desirable to retain samples of the aspirated bodily fluid for future diagnostic purposes.
The procedure for performing a biopsy, in many instances, is very similar to the practice of aspirating an area. The health care provider preps the patient then inserts the needle of the syringe into the area from which a sample is to be obtained. The plunger of the syringe is manually pulled backward, displacing the plunger within the barrel of the syringe to create a suction. The suction draws the sample into the barrel of the syringe. The sample can then be provided to a pathologist for further analysis.
Some of these procedures require more power than others. For example, obtaining bone marrow for either a transplant or for analysis is one of the procedures which requires more muscle power than other procedures. When a health care professional applies “muscle” to accomplish the job, it can become difficult to keep the syringe steady. Thus, more effort is required of a health care professional, there is increased discomfort for the patient, and the resulting sample may be less than ideal.
In many operations for obtaining a sample, a vacuum is used to collect the sample. The vacuum is maintained as the needle is removed from the sample area. When this occurs, there is also a possibility that the collection device may obtain a portion of a sample from other than the effected area.